Cubs, an all encompassing trip

At The Plate – The Cubs did most of their damage in just two innings and that was enough to win as they scored three times in the fourth and four times in the fifth en route to a 7-3 victory. Dave Sappelt had a solid day going 2-for-4 with two runs scored; he’s hitting .225 since his demotion. Brad Nelson is on a roll, he was 2-for-4 with his seventh home run of the season, a double, five RBI’s, and two runs scored. Donnie Murphy was 2-for-4 with his second home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Nick Struck got the start and picked up his second win of the season as he battled some command issues and worked out of a few tough spots. Struck went six innings giving up two runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out four. Yoanner Negrin was solid out of the pen, he worked the final three innings to pick up his first save of the season, he gave up one run on four hits while striking out four.

At The Plate – The Daytona Cubs continue to show some fight which they seemed to discover just about four days ago as they battled back in this one to steal a win. Wes Darvill was 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a run scored in the win. Javier Baez was 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, and he made two errors bringing his 2013 total to nineteen. Dustin Geiger came through big time once again, he was 1-for-3 with his fifth home run of the season which came in the eighth inning to give the D-Cubs a 5-4 lead, he had one RBI, a walk, and a run scored as well. Tim Saunders was a threat on the bases yesterday, he was 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and two stolen bases, he now has twelve on the season, he also scored a run.

On The Mound – Ben Wells couldn’t keep the ball down in this one but still kept his team in it long enough for them to get the win. Wells didn’t factor in the decision as he worked five innings giving up four runs, three earned, on four hits while walking two and striking out three. Jeffrey Lorick was outstanding out of the pen; he worked two scoreless innings giving up three hits while striking out one to earn his second win of the season. Luis Liria was also solid as he worked two scoreless innings to pick up his first save of the season.

At The Plate – Really impressed with the way Kane County battled Cedar Rapids this weekend, each game could have went either way but Cedar Rapids has been winning all year, that likely helped them to two victories this weekend as great times know how to win close games, Kane County will get there eventually. Jeimer Candelario was 2-for-4 with his fifteenth double of the season, which leads the MWL; he also had a run scored. Rock Shoulders was 1-for-4 with his tenth home run of the season, which also leads the MWL, he also had two RBI’s, and a run scored. Bijan Rademacher continues to rake, he went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, he’s now hitting .343 on the season. David Bote was 1-for-4 with his first home run of the season, and it was a big one, a two run shot with two outs in the ninth to tie the game.

On The Mound – Jose Rosario got the start for the Cougars, it was his first appearance of the year, and he was solid. Rosario went four innings giving up two runs, one earned, on two hits while walking one. Ian Dickson took over and was roughed up as he took the loss, he worked four innings giving up six runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out four. Eddie Orozco couldn’t get out of Dickson’s trouble in the ninth as he worked two-third of an inning while walking two, including walking the game winning run in.

At The Plate – The losing ways continue for the Iowa Cubs and they can blame themselves as they made four errors in the loss. Logan Watkins was 1-for-4 with his seventh double of the season, and a run scored, he also made his fourth error of the season. Ian Stewart got a rare start and made it count going 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored. Donnie Murphy was 2-for-3 with an RBI in the loss.

On The Mound – Chris Rusin got the start and didn’t help himself as he made on of the errors, but he battled. Rusin went 6.2 innings giving up four runs, three earned, on five hits while walking two and striking out three. Zach Putnam worked out of Rusin’s trouble in the seventh getting the final out on strikeout. Rafael Dolis worked a scoreless inning in relief giving up two hits while striking out one. Blake Parker worked a scoreless inning as well giving up on hit while walking one and striking out one.

At The Plate – The Smokies are on a roll again, with the win they are now three game above .500 for the season. Matt Szczur shows up in every recap, he was 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .304 on the season. Ronald Torreyes was 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Arismendy Alcantara was all over the scoresheet in this one, he was 3-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season, two doubles, two RBI’s, and a run scored, he also made his fourteenth error of the season. Anthony Giansanti also had a big day, and has been awesome since he was promoted to Tennessee, he was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .353 on the season.

On The Mound – Dallas Beeler got the start and his fourth win of the season as he was solid. Beeler went six innings giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits while walking two and striking out six. Trey McNutt got back on track working one scoreless inning giving up one hit while striking out two. Kevin Rhoderick continues to struggle, he worked one inning giving up one run on two hits while walking one and striking out one. Brian Schlitter worked the ninth for his second save of the season, he went one inning giving up one run, unearned, on two hits while striking out one.

At The Plate – Nice response the last few days from Daytona as the bats have woke up in a big way, fifteen more hits today in the victory. The D-Cubs were only 5-for-20 with runners in scoring position in this one, but having twenty chances is rather impressive. Zeke DeVoss has been struggling but had a solid game going 2-for-5 with two singles, he was picked off as well. Javier Baez had another solid game going 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Jorge Soler picked up right where he left off from yesterday, he was 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. Dustin Geiger also kept things rolling going 2-for-5 with yet another double, and a run scored. Ben Carhart supplied the power in this one going 1-for-5 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound– Zach Cates got the start and picked up his fourth win of the season going 5.2 innings giving up three runs on five hits while walking two and striking out one. David Cales was solid out of the pen going 2.1 innings giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits while walking one and striking out four. Hunter Cervenka was solid again working a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the season.

At The Plate – Another solid game between the Cougars and the high-powered Kernels, this time Kane County got the best of them winning 4-0. Dan Vogelbach was 2-for-4 with his seventh double of the season, he’s now hitting .288 for the year. Rock Shoulders has been coming back down to Earth as of late, can’t really blame him, but was solid in this one going 2-for-4 with his ninth home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Oliver Zapata provided some surprising offense out of the nine spot going 3-for-4 with his third home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.

On The Mound – Pierce Johnson was brilliant in this one as he shut down the prospect laden Kernels. Johnson went six scoreless innings giving up six hits while walking one and striking out nine to earn his second win of the season. Justin Amlung was solid out of the pen going two scoreless innings while walking two and striking out three. Jeffry Antigua closed the door in the ninth working a scoreless inning giving up on hit while striking out two.

At The Plate – After battling back from an early 4-0 hole the Iowa Cubs found themselves leading heading into the late innings, that’s when things fell apart in 9-8 loss to Tucson. Hits were all over the place in this one as the Cubs pounded out eighteen hits, and scored eight runs, they left 11 men on base as well. Logan Watkins was 1-for-4 with a walk, his third home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Brett Jackson had a breakout game going 4-for-5 with a double, and a run, he’s now hitting .265 on the season. Josh Vitters had a solid game as well going 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Darnell McDonald, Brent Lillibridge, and J.C. Boscan each had two hits in the loss.

On The Mound – Guillermo Moscoso got the start for the Cubs, and pitched in and out of trouble having one costly inning. Moscoso went five innings giving up four runs, two earned, on nine hits while striking out eight. Esmailin Caridad was sub par to say the least, he worked two-thirds of an inning giving up three runs on four hits to take the loss. Casey Coleman was roughed up a bit as well, he worked 2.1 innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking one. Hisanori Takahashi worked a scoreless ninth inning to give the Cubs a shot to no avail.

At The Plate – The Smokies jumped on top of the Lookouts with four runs in the second and couldn’t add on the rest of the way, even still they were able to hang on for a 4-3 win. Matt Szczur continues to find ways get on base for the Smokies as their lead-off man, he was 2-for-5 in this one, and he is now hitting .294 on the season. Ronald Torreyes provided the production for the Smokies, he was 1-for-5 with two RBI’s in the win. Christian Villanueva had a huge game, he was 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Kyle Hendricks has been so very good this year, and he was again in this one, he worked seven innings giving up three runs on six hits while walking one and striking out three to earn his third win of the season. Tony Zych did a solid job out of the pen going one scoreless inning while striking out one. Zach Rosscup was good as usual working a scoreless ninth inning for his first save of the season, he walked one and struck out the side.

At The Plate – Daytona owned game one, and it was nice to see them put together a team game and get a win given their recent struggles. As you will read, this day was owned by Jorge Solerand Dustin Geiger, maybe May 17 shall be known as Soler Geiger day moving forward. Soler was a monster in game one, he was 4-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season, and three runs scored. He scored three times because Dustin Geiger was hitting behind him, and he didn’t want Soler to have all the glory. Geiger was outstanding, he was also 4-for-4 with three doubles, a triple (slugging madness!), and four RBI’s. That was it, those two guys won the game for the D-Cubs.

On The Mound– Yeiper Castillo was all Daytona needed on the mound. He spun a gem, going the distance (7 innings for DH’s), he worked seven innings giving up one run on four hits while walking one and striking out two. He improved his record to 1-0 on the season, and lowered his ERA to 2.33, very impressive.

At The Plate – Daytona owned game one, and battled for a character win in game two to sweep the double-header. Javier Baez was 2-for-5 with a walk, a triple, and three runs scored, he also had three errors, bring his 2013 total to seventeen. Jorge Soler was a beast in game two as well, he went 3-for-6 with a double, and a run scored, he was 7-for-10 in the double-header and is now hitting .297 on the season. Back to the other hero of the day Dustin Geiger, he was 3-for-4 in game two with a double, two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored. He was 7-for-8 in the double-header with four doubles, and a triple, he is hitting .331 on the season. Taiwan Easterling was 2-for-6 with a triple, a double, and two RBI’s in the win.

On The Mound – Tough to have a second game of a double header go twelve innings, if not for the bullpen in game two the D-Cubs would have been in trouble, they came through big time. Eduardo Figueroa got the start and was roughed up, he worked three innings giving up four runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one. The bullpen took over and worked a combined nine scoreless innings giving up four hits while walking two and striking out six. Austin Reed worked two of those innings, walking one and striking out two. Sheldon McDonlad was outstanding working four innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out one. Frank Del Valle worked the final three innings to earn his first win of the season, he gave up two hits while striking out three.

At The Plate– The Cougars fought hard in this one against the best team in the league only to fall short in twelve innings. Bijan Rademacher continues to hit, he was 3-for-5 with a double, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .350 on the season. Jeimer Candelario was 2-for-5 with a double, and a run scored, he also made his twelfth error of the season. Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-5 with two singles in the loss.

On The Mound – Dillon Maples had a solid outing, and again, finished the day healthy, which is the most important thing right now. Maples worked five innings giving up two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out five. Lendy Castillo took over and was solid as well, he worked five innings giving up on run on five hits while walking three and striking out four. Nathan Dorris struggled with his command, which is rare, he suffered the loss as a result. Dorris worked 1.1 innings giving up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out two.

At The Plate– Iowa didn’t really have a lot going offensively, but they didn’t need it as the one run they scored in the second inning was enough for the win. Brent Lillibridge was 1-for-3 with a walk in the win. Dave Sappelt, Brian Bogusevic, and Josh Vitters all had base hits in this one. Donnie Muphy had the biggest one, a run scoring single in the second, he finished the night 1-for-2 with said RBI.

On The Mound – Matt Garza is just about ready to return to the Cubs and he showed it tonight. Garza was brilliant going six scoreless innings giving up two hits while striking out six, he threw 75 pitches, 53 for strikes. Brooks Raley took it from there as he worked three scoreless inning out of the pen for his first save of the year, he gave up two hits while walking one and striking out three.

At The Plate – The Smokies broke through with two runs in the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie, and eventually win 6-4, the win pushes them one game over .500 on the season. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-4 with a double and a runs scored in the win. Ty Wright had a huge night for the Smokies going 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI’s, and two runs scored, Wright came into this one with no home runs on the season. Jonathan Mota was 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Rafael Lopez was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

On The Mound – Matt Loosen never really found his command in this one as he worked four innings giving up four runs on three hits while walking six(!), and striking out five. Then the bullpen took over for the Smokies and won the game. A.J. Morris was perfect going three scoreless innings while striking out three to get his second win of the season. Marcus Hatley worked a scoreless eighth inning giving up one hit. Frank Batista worked a scoreless ninth to earn his fifth save of the season while striking out one.

At The Plate – The Daytona bats finally woke up, unfortunately that wasn’t enough to win tonight as they drop another disappointing one to Charlotte. Daytona scored seven times but left a lot out there as they were only 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Dustin Geiger is putting together a solid season and had another good night going 3-for-5 with his fourth home run of the season, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .298 on the season. Ben Carhart was 1-for-4 with a walk, and two runs scored in the loss. Huge night for Chadd Krist, he went 3-for-3 with a walk, two doubles, and five RBI’s, not bad for his second game with Daytona.

On The Mound – Probably the worst outing you will ever see P.J. Francescon have, he had nothing. Francescon went five innings giving up ten runs, eight earned, on nine hits while walking five and striking out three, his record fell to 3-3 on the season. Jeffrey Lorick was decent out of the pen going 1.2 innings giving up one run, unearned, on one hit while walking one and striking out one. David Cales was okay out of the pen going 1.1 innings giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out one. Hunter Cervenka worked a scoreless inning giving up one hit, he has a sparkling 1.62 ERA on the season.

At The Plate – Game one was all Cougars, they didn’t break it open until late but they only needed one as they beat the Chiefs in game one 5-0. Pin-Chieh Chen was 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored from the lead-off spot. Gioskar Amaya had a big game going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI’s, and a run scored. Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-4 with a double, and an RBI in the win. Willson Contreras is locked in right now, he was 2-for-3 with a walk, he is now hitting .307 on the season. Marco Hernandez was perfect in game one going 3-for-3 with a double, and two runs scored.

On The Mound– Brian Smith was awesome for the Cougars, in fact he was almost perfect. Smith worked four scoreless, and hit-less innings while walking two and striking out two. Eddie Orozco took over and was very good, he worked two scoreless innings giving up one hit while striking out one to earn his second win of the season. Jeffry Antigua came on to close this one out, he worked a scoreless inning while striking out one.

At The Plate – The Chiefs got payback in game two as they routed the Cougars 8-2, the Cougars could only manage three hits in this one. What’s worse is they committed six errors in seven innings, that usually doesn’t end well. Jeimer Candelario was one of the few Cougars who had a strong game two at the plate, he was 2-for-3 with two doubles, he also committed three errors. Marco Hernandez proved to be the only offense for the Cougars going 1-for-3 with his first home run of the season, two RBI’s, a run scored, and you guessed it, an error.

On The Mound – As you could imagine the Cougars pitching didn’t get a lot of help from their defense. Michael Heesch got the start and took the loss, he worked three innings giving up six runs, two earned, on four hits while walking two. Steve Perakslis was solid out of the pen working three scoreless innings giving up three hits while striking out two. Bijan Rademacher, the Cougars starting right fielder, worked one inning giving up two runs, unearned, on two hits while walking one.

At The Plate – It was smooth sailing for the Smokies until the eighth inning when they saw their 4-2 lead turn into an 8-4 deficit that the Smokies couldn’t overcome. In an odd stat, the Smokies were caught stealing four times in this game, that’s usually doesn’t bode well when you make that many outs on the bases. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-3 with a run scored in the loss. Rubi Silva was 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, and two caught stealings. Jair Fernandez had a big day going 2-for-3 with a walk, his first home run of the season, two RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound– Eric Jokisch was solid in this one, but did not factor into the decision. He went 6.2 innings giving up two runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out five. Trey McNutt was roughed up out of the pen going two-thirds of an inning giving up two runs on two hits. Brian Schlitter wasn’t much better as he took the loss, he worked two-thirds of an inning giving up four runs, two earned, on three hits while striking out one.

At The Plate – Another day, and another disaster turned in by Daytona, at this rate they probably wish the weather turned crappy again. They were thoroughly dominated by the 15-23 Stone Crabs as Daytona still can’t find their offense that has been MIA since all the rain outs. The D-Cubs could only manage one run on five hits in this one, all five hits were singles, they only walked once, and struck out ten times. John Andreoli, Javier Baez, Dustin Geiger, Ben Carhart, and Chadd Krist all recorded one base hit each in the loss.

On The Mound – Austin Kirk wants April back as he has been atrocious in May. Kirk got the start today and was handed his second loss as he went four innings giving up six runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out four. Luis Liria did a solid job out of the pen as he worked two scoreless innings giving up three hits while striking out one. Sheldon McDonald was good as well going two scoreless innings giving up three hits while striking out one, no that’s not a typo they had the exact same numbers. Frank Del Valle struggled a bit going one inning giving up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out two.

At The Plate – Solid win for the Cougars as they brought their record back up to .500 at 18-18, and it’s a win over the Cardinals system so that’s always fun. The Cougars pounded out eleven hits while scoring four runs and were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Bijan Rademacher likes to hit baseballs, he was 2-for-4 with a run scored in this one, he is now hitting .360 on the season. Dan Vogelbach was 2-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts, I only mention that because it’s rare, he usually puts the bat on the ball. Willson Contreras is putting a nice little season together right now, he was 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI’s, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .294 on the season. Marco Hernandez was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and a caught stealing, one of two by the Cougars in the game.

On The Mound – Tayler Scott is having himself quite a season so far, and he was dominant today. Scott went 7.1 scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking two and striking out two to get his second win of the season. Nathan Dorris has been even better this year, he worked 1.2 scoreless innings to earn his third save of the year, he gave up one hit in doing so.

The Venezuelan Summer League Cubs were back in action today, and things went much better as they didn’t give up twenty-two runs again, but they still lost 8-7 to the VSL Phillies, full box score is here.

At The Plate – The Cubs had nothing going for them in this one as they could only manage to score once on seven hits while being routed by the Aces 11-1. Brian Bogusevic continues to hit even if the rest of his team doesn’t, he was 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .373 on the season. Brad Nelson has been on fire as of late, he was 2-for-4 with a double, and an RBI, he has his average all the way up to .286 on the season. Ian Stewart got a rare start and had a good day, he was 1-for-3 with a walk, and a double, much better approach.

On The Mound – Yuck. Barret Loux got the start and was torn apart, he went 3.1 innings giving up seven runs on nine hits while walking three and striking out two, his record dropped to 2-2 with the loss. Yoanner Negrin came on in relief and really didn’t help his cause as he made two errors. Negrin worked 2.2 innings giving up three runs, two earned, on seven hits while walking one and striking out three. Hisanori Takahashi came on and stopped the bleeding as he worked a scoreless inning. Casey Coleman was roughed up a bit as he worked an inning giving up one run on three hits while striking out one.

At The Plate – Another thrilling win for the Smokies after it looked like to could be a crushing loss. The Smokies gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game but recaptured the lead in the tenth and hung on to win 3-2. Matt Szczur is rolling right now, and has been solid all year, he was 3-for-5 with three singles, he is now hitting .302 on the season. Arismendy Alcantara was 1-for-5 with two RBI’s, that one hit was a two out drag bunt base hit that scored the winning run in the tenth. Christian Villanueva was 2-for-3 with his second home run of the season, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, he’s hitting .250 on the season and .303 over his last ten games.

On The Mound – Unfortunately Alberto Cabrera did not factor in the decision as he deserved a win tonight, he was electric. Cabrera went seven innings giving up one run on five hits while walking one and striking out seven. Marcus Hatley worked a scoreless inning out of the pen giving up one hit while striking out one. The usually reliable Zach Rosscup hit a speed bump in this one as he blew the save giving up on run on two hits while walking one in the ninth, but ended up getting the win. Frank Batista was solid in the tenth inning to earn his fourth save of the season he worked a scoreless inning while striking out one.

At The Plate – Once again the D-Cubs couldn’t do anything offensively and suffered another loss to a team that they probably should beat. The D-Cubs could only manage four hits all night, and were 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position, they scored twice. Javier Baez, John Andreoli, Dustin Geiger, and Chad Noble had the hits in this one, all singles except for a Geiger double. Jorge Soler, and Chad Noble recorded the RBI’s in the loss.

On The Mound– Ben Wells rebounded from his last outing with a solid performance going 5.1 innings giving up two runs on six hits while walking two and striking out four. Jeffrey Lorick came on in relief and allowed an inherited runner to score working two-thirds of an inning giving up one hit. Eduardo Figueroa took the loss in this one as he worked one inning giving up two runs on two hits while walking two. Austin Reed did a great job out of the pen going two scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking one.

At The Plate – The Cougars grabbed an early lead in this one, but it was all Chiefs from there on out as they easily dispatched Kane County 8-4. Gioskar Amaya was 1-for-2 with two walks, and a run scored, he seems to be in the middle of everything lately. Rock Shoulders, who has struggled a bit as of late, that’s going to happen when you hit .400 for a month, he was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Willson Contreras was 2-for-2 with his fifth home run of the season, stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored. The Cougars didn’t really help their own cause in the field as they made three errors in the loss.

On The Mound– Ian Dickson got the start and didn’t last very long but wasn’t bad at all, he went four innings giving up two runs on five hits while walking one and striking out four. Justin Amlung took over and ended up taking the loss, his first of the season. Amlung worked three innings giving up four runs, three earned, on five hits while walking one and striking out two. Steve Perakslis tossed two innings giving up two runs on two hits while walking one.

At The Plate – Nice comeback win for the Cubs as they trailed for most of the game and really couldn’t generate any offense. They only needed one inning to get the job done as they scored six times in the sixth en route to a 6-4 win. One small note, that was big in this game was the Cubs turned five double plays, FIVE, that’s hard to do. Josh Vitters was 1-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored in the victory. Brad Nelson was 1-for-4 with two RBI’s, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .278 on the season. Donnie Murphy had a big game going 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, a double, and a run scored.

On The Mound – The Cubs gave up twelve hits in this one but held the Aces (get it?) to only four runs thanks in large part to those five double plays I mentioned. Nick Struck got the start and battled to earn his first win of the season while not having his best stuff. Struck went six innings giving up four runs on eleven hits while walking one and striking out four. Esmailin Caridad worked two scoreless innings out of the pen giving up one hit while walking one. Zach Putnam was solid as well, he worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.

At The Plate – What a thrilling win for the Smokies as they trailed 4-2 heading to the ninth where they scored four times to take a 6-4 lead, and get the victory. Matt Szczur came into this year with a lot to prove, and so far he’s proving an awful lot. He was 2-for-5 with a double, his thirteenth stolen base of the year, and an RBI, he’s now hitting .291 on the season. Rafael Lopez has been on fire of late, he was 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Rubi Silva was 2-for-4 with his seventh home run of the season, a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Tim Torres was 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in the victory. Anthony Giansanti who was recently promoted from Daytona was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Dallas Beeler got the start and had another solid outing, Beeler went six innings giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits while walking two and striking out three. Tony Zych walked a fine line in his inning of work giving up one run, unearned, on two hits while walking two and striking out one. Trey McNutt struggled a bit with command, but was also overpowering in his inning of work, he walked two and struck out three to earn his second win of the season. Kevin Rhoderick had one of his best outings of the year to nail down his first save; he worked a scoreless ninth while striking out two.

At The Plate– Daytona had nothing going in this one, and really I can’t blame them as they haven’t seen game action for five days. The D-Cubs could only manage five hits in the shutout loss, the Stone Crabs tried to help them as much as possible with three errors but Daytona couldn’t take advantage as they were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Only three guys were able to record hits in this one, Zeke DeVoss went 2-for-4, Ben Carhart went 2-for-4, and Chadd Krist went 1-for-3, all singles.

On The Mound – The Daytona pitching was good enough to win in this one, but had to work around some trouble, they got a lot of help from their defense as the D-Cubs turned four double plays, and ahad two outfield assists. Zach Cates got the start and took his fourth loss of the season, he worked six innings giving up three runs on eleven hits while walking one and striking out three. Frank Del Valle was his usual solid self, tossing a scoreless inning while striking out two. Luis Liria worked a scoreless inning as well, giving up one hit while walking one and striking out two. David Cales worked a scoreless ninth inning to keep Daytona close.

At The Plate – The Cougars couldn’t get anything going all day long, and when they did threaten they couldn’t come through as they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-4 with his fourth stolen base of the season. Dan Vogelbach continues to hit as he was 2-for-4, he is now hitting .295 on the season. Jeimer Candelario was 1-for-4 with his tenth double of the season in the loss.

On The Mound– Pierce Johnson was solid once again in this one; unfortunately he was hung with the loss which drops his record to 1-3 on the season. Johnson went six innings giving up four runs, three earned, on seven hits while walking one and striking out six. Jeffry Antigua was just about perfect out of the pen as he worked two scoreless innings while striking out five.

The Cubs Venezuelan Summer League opened yesterday, things didn’t go so well. The VSL Cubs lost 22-11 to the VSL Rays, you can view the box score here.

At The Plate – Tough one to swallow for the Cubs in this one as they blew a 6-1 lead that they had in the third, and an 8-6 lead in the ninth by giving up three runs in the bottom half to lose 9-8. Brett Jackson seems to be finding a groove ever since coming off the DL, he was 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, and two runs scored. Josh Vitters was 1-for-3 with two walks, and a run scored. Dave Sappelt was 1-for-5 with a triple, three RBI’s, and a run scored in the loss. Brad Nelson was 2-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Ian Stewart made a rare appearance in this one and it was a productive one, he was 1-for-1 with a triple, and two RBI’s in a pinch-hitting role.

On The Mound – Chris Rusin didn’t have his best stuff in this one, going five innings giving up five runs on nine hits while striking out one. Casey Coleman was outstanding out of the pen going two scoreless innings while striking out one. Hisanori Takahashi worked just one-third of an inning giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out one. Rafael Dolis worked one inning and it wasn’t good, he gave up two runs on one hit while walking one and striking out one. Blake Parker also struggled in a third of an inning, giving up one run on one hit, he was hung with his first loss of the season.

At The Plate – The Smokies had plenty of opportunities in this one, but were only 4-17 with runners in scoring position. Even so, the Smokies scored five times, and that was plenty in this one, winning 5-0. Matt Szczur has been on a roll of late, and today as well, he was 3-for-5 with a double, and two RBI’s, he’s now hitting .287 on the season. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-4 with a double, he also made his eleventh error on the season in the victory. Christian Villanueva was 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Tim Torres was 1-for-4 with a double, and two runs scored.

On The Mound– Kyle Hendricks was outstanding once again in this one, going 6.2 scoreless innings giving up four hits while walking one and striking out four to earn his second win of the season. A.J. Morris pitched out of trouble in his inning of work, he worked a scoreless inning giving up two hits while walking one and striking out two. Zach Rosscup worked 1.1 scoreless innings while walking one and striking out three to close this one out.

At The Plate – Kane County seems to find ways to lose games in the worst ways, tonight was one of them as the Cougars led 6-3 in the sixth inning only to fall 7-6. Bijan Rademacher was 0-for-2 with three walks, a run scored, and a caught stealing. Jeimer Candelario was 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. Rock Shoulders was 1-for-5 with a grand slam, his eighth home run of the season, four RBI’s, and a run scored. Carlos Escobar, and Oliver Zapata each had two hits in the loss.

On The Mound – Dillon Maples was promoted from extended spring training to Kane County today as got the start. First things first that is very important as Maples is one of the better pitching prospects in the system, and it’s good to see him back healthy. Maples went five innings giving up three runs on six hits while striking out two. Lendy Castillo took over and ended up taking the loss going 4.1 innings giving up four runs on two hits while walking four and striking out four.

The Cubs are usually on the other end of these games, I like winning these games WAY more than losing them. The Cubs had nothing going all day as they were being no hit through five innings, then they started to chip away at Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez. The Cubs loaded the bases in the sixth only to come up empty, but it signaled that the Cubs might be ready to make things difficult for the Nats. Gonzalez rebounded nicely in the seventh inning, but Nats manager Davey Johnson decided to pull Gio after only 86 pitches on the day, the Cubs thank you Davey. The Cubs went to work in the eighth as they played some small ball. Navarro singled to lead off the eighth, he was then moved to second on a sac bunt by Barney. Travis Wood pinch ran for Navarro and made a great base running play to tag up on a foul ball behind first base to make it to third with two outs. Starlin Castro delivered as he took a Drew Storen pitch back up the middle for game tying base hit. The Cubs used some aggressiveness in the ninth to take the lead an ultimately win the game. They put the first two guys on in the ninth then Ryan Sweeney struck out, I know I’m not the only Cubs fan to think here we go again. But on the very next pitch Soriano and Borbon executed a double steal and the Cubs finally got a break. Kurt Suzuki‘s throw to third hit Welington Castillo‘s bat and went down the third base line allowing Soriano to score the game winning run. Kevin Gregg was perfect in the ninth to secure the Cubs win, and the series win over the Nats.

At The Plate – As I mentioned the Cubs had nothing going all day long, but woke up just in time. Starlin Castro was 1-for-3 with a walk, and a game tying RBI from the lead-off spot. Cody Ransom had a solid day from the two spot going 2-for-4 with two singles. Dioner Navarro was one of the few guys who were locked in at the plate, he was 2-for-3 in the win.

On The Mound – Another really solid start for Scott Feldman, he had to settle for a no decision but that was better than an undeserved loss. Feldman went six innings giving up one run on five hits while walking three and striking out six. Kyuji Fujikawa was solid, and healthy for the second time this series. Fujikawa worked a scoreless inning while striking out one, very encouraging to see his velocity up near 93-94 MPH. James Russell worked a scoreless eighth inning while walking one to earn his first win of the season. Kevin Gregg was lights out yet again, what else would you expect? Gregg worked a scoreless ninth while striking out two earning his sixth save of the season.

Up Next – The Cubs head home to start a three game series with the Colorado Rockies tomorrow night.

At The Plate – Game one of the Cougars/Bees double-header needed three extra innings, but it paid of for the Cougars as they stung the Bees 2-1…stung, because they are Bees! Oliver Zapata was 1-for-4 with an RBI, and a walk, Zapata had the game winning hit in the top of the tenth. Bijan Rademacher continues to hit going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, he’s now hitting .378 on the season. Marco Hernandez was 2-for-4 with an RBI in the victory.

On The Mound – The Cougars got back to dealing in this one as they were brilliant all game long. Tayler Scott got the start and was really good going 5.1 innings giving up one run on four hits while walking three and striking out six. Steve Perakslis worked 1.2 scoreless innings out of the pen while walking one. Nathan Dorris was good per usual as he worked two scoreless inning while striking out two to earn his first win of the season. Ian Dickson worked a scoreless inning to earn his first save of the season, he gave up one hit while striking out one.

At The Plate – Nothing happening for either team in the first five innings, then the Cougars broke out, scoring twice in the sixth and seventh to sweep the double-header 4-1. The Cougars could only manage four hits in game two, but walked four times and were 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Rock Shoulders was 1-for-3 with his seventh home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Bijan Rademacher has been out of his mind, he was 1-for-3 with his first home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. David Bote and Oliver Zapata were each 1-for-2 with a walk, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Felix Pena was brilliant again for the Cougars going six innings giving up one run on two hits while walking five, and striking out six. Eddie Orozco came on to finish things off by tossing a scoreless seventh, he gave up two hits while walking one and striking out one.

At The Plate – Nothing good in this one as Iowa was destroyed by the Sky Sox, they were out of it right from the get go. Logan Watkins was 1-for-2 with a double, a stolen base, and an RBI. Donnie Murphy was 1-for-3 with a stolen base, and a walk in the loss. Darnell McDonald was 1-for-4 with a double, and a run scored. The Cubs were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

On The Mound– Brooks Raley got the start and he was pounded, early and often. Raley went four innings giving up eight runs on eleven hits while walking three and striking out four. Yoanner Negrin settled things down out of the pen going three innings giving up one run, unearned, on one hit while walking one and striking out five. Rafael Dolis struggled in his return to Iowa going one inning giving up two runs on two hits while walking two and striking one.

At The Plate– A back and forth game ended with the Smokies rally falling just short in the bottom of the ninth as the Barons escaped with a 5-4 win. Matt Szczur was 2-for-3 with two walks, his tenth stolen base of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Ronald Torreyes was 1-for-3 with two walks in the loss. Christian Villanueva was 2-for-3 with two singles as he looks to get it going, he’s now hitting .216 on the season. Rubi Silva was 1-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season, an RBI, and two runs scored.

On The Mound – Eric Jokisch hasn’t been good since being named the minor league pitcher of the month in April. Jokisch went 4.1 innings giving up five runs on eight hits while walking four and striking out four. Brian Schlitter was outstanding out of the pen going 2.2 scoreless innings giving up two hits while striking out two. Frank Batista was good as well going two scoreless innings giving up one hit while striking out two.

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